Nursing vs Teaching,I'm sure this has been asked, and I'm sorry but I have a bet going.

What is harder nursing or teaching? If anyone on here has done both, I would love to hear from you. I think I know what most are going to say. My answer is teacher, and I don't want to influence an answer so I can't say why. Also I would love to get a 100 responses but I know that's not likely so I'm going to say can I at least get 5. I'm also going to post it on a nursing forum.

I think this is a very unfair question to both professions. Both have their own stresses and difficulties, and both have their own advantages. I don't think it's reasonable to try and call one easier or harder than the other.

They're both challenging in their own ways. You can't really compare the two.
Not all nurses can teach, and not all teachers can be a nurse. So one would be harder than the other depending on WHO you ask.

physically harder - I'd say nursing. Sure, we have some EC teachers that have to lift 200 lb kids and some nurses that sit at a desk all day and take telephone calls. But for the most part, nurses do more physical work.

Intellectually? It's a draw from what I can tell. It doesn't take an enormous amount of intelligence to do either. I've known some REALLY good nurses and REALLY good teachers that seem to be of average intelligence.

Stress? I think it would really depend on what you were doing each day - where you worked. ER? Podiatrist's office? Alternative school? Private Pre-K? Nurses receive a lot more respect than teachers, but they catch hell from doctors and patients' families just like teachers catch it from admin and students' families. April - June can be extremely stressful in 3rd grade - the first year of standardized testing. But those high stakes are nothing compared to struggling to save a car accident victim.

Financially? Teaching is harder. The pay is far less and nurses don't have to use their own money to buy medication for their patients.

Like others have said, it really is apples and oranges. If someone is choosing between the two careers, I'd advise nursing, hands-down.

ETA: Nursing hours are a LOT better. I've never known a nurse to take home work to finish, and about half of the nurses I know work 3 12-hour shifts a week versus my 5 10-hour days plus weekend work.

I'm not a nurse and don't personally know any nurses, but in Pennsylvania, where I live, the median salary for nurses and teachers is about the same -- just north of $60,000. I would buy that nursing is a more physical job -- other than standing and talking, I don't do anything physical in the classroom.

But I would beg to differ on the intellectual part. As a high school English teacher, I have to understand my content (mostly writing) on a step-by-step, analytical basis and then understand how to deliver it to a roomful of 25 teenagers. I fully believe that nurses are intellectually engaged in much of what they do, but this is a different animal. I worked previously as a news reporter, and it doesn't even come close to the level of intellectual challenge and engagement of teaching.

No disrespect to nurses, but I think you have to be a much more dynamic person and thinker to be an excellent teacher.

I will say that if you aren't good as a teacher I can't imagine a more difficult and stressful career. So if you've tried teaching and were found wanting, I could see how you could easily become jaded.

I will also respectfully disagree in terms of which profession receives more respect. Both have high and low points. Teaching has come a long way in terms of its public perception, but some people still try to paint it as a part-time profession. And nurses don't have to deal with much in the way of media attention, good or bad, but some people still perceive it as a female-only helper's profession.

What is harder nursing or teaching? If anyone on here has done both, I would love to hear from you.

Click to expand...

To be fair she wanted to know if anyone had done both to see what they thought. I used to wish I had done 20 as a teacher and then go back to school and do nursing. My niece finished a two year degree about 20 years ago and became a nurse and STARTED at the salary it took me 17 years and a masters degree to reach in teaching. But not just for the money as I think I would like helping people that are sick. Too late now. I was also thinking of having two retirement checks doing two different careers.